Lillie Ammann's Blog, page 85

Monday after Lent 4

41 And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. 42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. 43 Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.” ~ Mark 12:41-44 (NASB)

We want to be generous in our giving, but sometimes we worry about meeting our own needs. Surely, we think, God wants us to take care of ourselves and our families first. But we have nothing that didn’t come from God, and He commended the poor widow for putting everything she had to live on in the “collection plate.” We aren’t likely to have so little that our offering would deplete our resources, but maybe we need to give a little more sacrificially.

Heavenly Father, Jesus showed me that I should be a generous giver—to give of what I have instead of hoarding what You have entrusted to me. Lead me in my giving to give both generously and cheerfully. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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The Fourth Sunday in Lent

5 Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, *said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?” 6 This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do. 7 Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.” 8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, 9 “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. 12 When they were filled, He *aid to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. ~ John 6:5-13 (NASB)

When we look at all the need in the world, we may wonder how we do anything to relieve any of the pain. Daily, we receive solicitations from many fine Christian organizations asking for money to support their missions. Sometimes we get discouraged because we can’t give all we would like, and what little we can give seems like nothing in the face of the needs. Yet, one small lad offered his five barley loaves and two small fish, and Jesus turned that offering into a feast to feed five thousand people and still have leftovers. God can take the little we have to offer and turn it into a bounty.

Remind me, Father, that You can take my small contribution and multiple it many times to fulfill Your plans. Help me to choose wisely the charities to whom I entrust my contributions and to remember to offer my prayers as well as my financial support. In the name of Jesus. Amen.



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Saturday after Lent 3

35 And Jesus began to say, as He taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? 36 David himself said in the Holy Spirit,

‘The Lord said to my Lord,

“Sit at My right hand,

Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet.”’

37 David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; so in what sense is He his son?” And the large crowd enjoyed listening to Him. 38 In His teaching He was saying: “Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like respectful greetings in the market places, 39 and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, 40 who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation.” ~ Mark 12:35-40 (NASB)

God is the great I AM, and so is Jesus His Son. King David himself called Christ Lord, yet Jesus is the Son of David. The glorious Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Ghost—have always been and will always be. He is full of power and might, yet Jesus walked humbly as a man on the earth. The religious hypocrites of Jesus’ time, and our day, also, like to be recognized and honored, but Jesus who deserved honor above all the earth, ate with sinners and the downtrodden.



Heavenly Father, cleanse my heart so I am more like You and less like the religious hypocrites. I ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

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Friday after Lent 3

28 One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; 30 and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 The scribe said to Him, “Right, Teacher; You have truly stated that He is One, and there is no one else besides Him; 33 and to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as himself, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that, no one would venture to ask Him any more questions. ~ Mark 12:28-34 (NASB)

We know well the two greatest commandments. Many of us hear them read in church on Sunday mornings, and we have read them in Scriptures many times. But do we live by those commandments? Not always, unfortunately. Sometimes we put other things ahead of the Lord in our lives, and even more often we are concerned about our own needs rather than the needs of our neighbors.

Let me always put You first, Lord, above everything and anything—in my time and in my devotion and love. And let me always love my neighbor as myself, putting the needs of others before my own needs. This I ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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Thursday after Lent 3

18 Some Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) came to Jesus, and began questioning Him, saying, 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves behind a wife and leaves no child, his brother should marry the wife and raise up children to his brother. 20 There were seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and died leaving no children. 21 The second one married her, and died leaving behind no children; and the third likewise; 22 and so all seven left no children. Last of all the woman died also. 23 In the resurrection, when they rise again, which one’s wife will she be? For all seven had married her.” 24 Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not understand the Scriptures or the power of God? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26 But regarding the fact that the dead rise again, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken.” ~ Mark 12:18-27 (NASB)

The religious leaders of His day continually tried to trap Jesus with their cunning questions. Yet He always gave them a truthful answer that did not fall into their traps. Today Christians argue over what will happen in the end times—there are pre-trib and post-trib and who-knows-what-else advocates. But all we have to know is that Jesus will come again, and we will be forever in Heaven with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.

Heavenly Father, I don’t need to know exactly when and how Jesus comes again. All that matters is that I will be with You eternally. Thank You, Lord, for that promise. Let me always be ready for the great day. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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Wednesday after Lent 3

13 Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in order to trap Him in a statement. 14 They came and said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not? 15 Shall we pay or shall we not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to look at.” 16 They brought one. And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.” 17 And Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were amazed at Him. ~ Mark 12:13-17 (NASB)

How I grumble about paying taxes, always trying to give the least to the government and keep the most for myself. But God’s Word, Jesus Himself, tells us to pay the government what is due in taxes. Although I often disagree with what the government does with the money it collects from its citizens, that’s a different issue. I can exercise my constitutional rights to try to convince legislators to vote or against certain measures, and I can vote or against candidates who support the issues I do or not. However, I am always obligated to pay my taxes.

Father God, help me to pay taxes—to render to Casesar the things that are Caesar’s—with a cheerful spirit. In the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. Amen.

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Tuesday after Lent 3

1 And He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and put a wall around it, and dug a vat under the wine press and built a tower, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey. 2 At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, in order to receive some of the produce of the vineyard from the vine-growers. 3 They took him, and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Again he sent them another slave, and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully. 5 And he sent another, and that one they killed; and so with many others, beating some and killing others. 6 He had one more to send, a beloved son; he sent him last of all to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those vine-growers said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’ 8 They took him, and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vine-growers, and will give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not even read this Scripture:

‘The stone which the builders rejected,

This became the chief corner stone;

11 This came about from the Lord,

And it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

12 And they were seeking to seize Him, and yet they feared the people, for they understood that He spoke the parable against them. And so they left Him and went away. ~ Mark 12:1-12 (NASB)

All of us killed Jesus. Although we weren’t there in Jerusalem crying out “His blood be on my hands,” yet we often sin, and sin is the reason for His death. If we—all of mankind—could control ourselves and stay away from sin, there would have been no need for Jesus to die for all sin—past, present, and future. Praise God, He did sacrifice Himself for us.

Lord, Forgive me for killing Your Son. Forgive me for all the times I put other things—even good things—before You. Help me through the Holy Spirit to put You first in every circumstance. Thank You that You forgive my sins and wash them away when I repent and ask for Your forgiveness. Thank You, Lord, for loving me so much. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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Monday after Lent 3

27 And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, 28 and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” 29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you a question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men? Answer me.” 31 And they argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 32 But shall we say, ‘From men’?”—they were afraid of the people, for all held that John was a real prophet. 33 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” ~ Mark 11:27-33 (NASB)

The chief priests, scribes, and elders had to know that John’s authority was from Heaven and even more that Jesus’ authority was from Heaven. Not only did Jesus’ authority come from God the Father, but Jesus and the Father are one. When He walked the earth as a man, Jesus was truly a man, having given up all the glory and majesty He was due in Heaven.

Heavenly Father, as Jesus submitted His will and authority to You. Lord, let me submit my will to You. I have no power of my own. I can lean only on You. Remind me that I can’t add one minute to my life or one hair to my head. All power is Yours. I yield to Your power and Your control of my life. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

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The Third Sunday in Lent

1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. ~ Ephesians 5:1-2 (NASB)

We tend to look up to celebrities, sports figures, and worldly successes. We want to “be like Mike” or some other person we admire. But Paul tells us to be imitators of God, to walk in love like Jesus did. How much better to be like Jesus than to be like any mortal person.

Lord, I want to be an imitator of You. Take away my desire to be like people who are worldly successes but who do not have the love of Christ in them. Christ loved us and gave Himself as a sacrifice for us, for me. He is the One I should imitate. Lead me to show His love to the world. In the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

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Saturday after Lent 2

22 And Jesus answered saying to them, “Have faith in God. 23 Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. 24 Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. 25 Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. 26 [But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.”] ~ Mark 11:22-26 (NASB)

It’s easy to take this passage out of context and think God’s Word is saying that anything we pray for and believe we will receive is ours. But we can’t ignore other Scriptures that tell us our prayers have to be in God’s will. He’s not a celestial puppet to Whom we pray and magically get what we want. He is the Creator, God Almighty, the High and Mighty Ruler of the Universe. He will always do what He knows is best for us, not what we think is best. If our will aligns with His, we may see our prayers being answered the way we desire. God has healed me in answer to prayer on several occasions. But if our wills doesn’t align with His, His answer is different. Perhaps healing will not come until we’re in Heaven. Perhaps He will give us something that we never imagined that turns out to be better than what we desired. Perhaps He will allow us to go through a trial or experience a loss or a failure so that we grow in the knowledge and love of Him. And perhaps we have not forgiven someone who has caused us hurt. Right after saying He will answer our prayers, He tells us that if we don’t forgive others, He won’t forgive us. In order for our prayers to be answered, our wills have to be in alignment with His.

Lord, order my will so it perfectly matches Yours. Help me to forgive those who hurt me, as I desperately need Your forgiveness. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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